babbling relentlessly about science fiction, fantasy, and all points in between

Saturday, May 07, 2016

Invaders From Planet 3 - episode 9 - Minister Faust

In this episode, we're joined by author, podcaster, and video game dialogue & plot writer Minister Faust. Minister tells us how his love of speculative fiction started with the original Star Trek series and Robert A. Heinlein's Red Planet. We also talk about Frank Herbert's Dune as one of his early influences, along with the merits and faults of the various incarnations of Dune over the years.
Also of particular interest are Minister's reflections on the significant role his mother played in his early development as a reader and a writer. How she introduced him to science fiction — and literature in general — and allowed him to read anything in the house. How she gave him a sense of the importance of having someone to talk about stories with. And how she fostered his enthusiasm for the wonder of the universe.

We'll talk about his books and how they struggle with the question of redemption and the humanity of both heroes and villains. On the subject of heroes, we'll discuss superheroes and comics, and how his novel Shrinking the Heroes (formerly known as From the Notebooks of Dr. Brain) uses the tropes of this sub-genre to grapple with the dangers of both poorly practiced psychology and the US government under the George W. Bush administration.

As we talk about superhero movies like Mystery Men and TV shows like Breaking Bad (which he contends is actually science fiction), Minister will share his thoughts on what he wants out of novels, comics, and other forms of entertainment. Our conversation will branch out into an exploration of the nature of communication and perception. And we circle back to the topic of heroes with a discussion on Canada's difficulty with heroes and mythology, nationalism versus regionalism, and the effects of our history.

Our interview took place in October 2015 via a Skype connection between Minister's headquarters at the Grand Lodge of Imhotep in Edmonton, and my location in the lair of bloginhood, located aboard a refurbished airship moored to the peak of Mt. Garibaldi.